Monthly Archives: November 2016

Post navigation

Preliminary studies indicate that estrogen replacement therapy is effective for major and minor depression in perimenopausal women with or without a history of depression. Pilot data suggest that estradiol may be effective for severe PPD. Progesterone is clearly not effective for depressive symptoms in PMS/PMDD, the postpartum or perimenopause. Safety concerns for medications during pregnancy and breast-feeding point to psychotherapy as the treatment for PPD, but the risk calculation of each treatment modality should be made on an individual basis. No one treatment entirely Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical fits each of these complex disorders with

their still-heterogeneous populations, and a one-fits-all treatment approach is not possible. Nonetheless, understanding knowledge of

actions on multiple tissues including the brain. The protective actions of estrogen carry tremendous implications for the promotion of health and the prevention Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of disease in postmenopausal women. Since the life span of Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical women has increased from approximately 50 to 80 years, but the age of the menopause remains at about 51 years, women may now live over three decades of their lives in a hypoestrogenic, postmenopausal state. The impact of prolonged hypoestrogenicity is now a critical health concern, since we realize that these women may suffer from an increased vulnerability to a variety of diseases. Conversely, replacement, with estrogen appears to act in the primary prevention of many disease processes, including ABT-199 manufacturer neurodegeneration. Estrogen, however, is not always beneficial, as high and unopposed levels may increase the risk for certain cancers in some women. Our challenge, therefore, second is to design hormone replacement therapies that exert, only beneficial effects in the body. To this end, we must gain a more complete understanding of the spectrum of estrogen’s actions and, more specifically, we must dissect the mechanisms that underlie its actions. The broad spectrum of estrogen’s actions includes significant, protection of the brain and primary prevention against neurodegeneration.

Our case was coded as a fixed drug eruption and is the only one reported. Lichenoid drug eruptions are hypersensitivity reactions; they are usually symmetrical on the trunk and extremities, and exclude the mucosa [Kimyai-Asadi et al. 1999], as in this case. They are characterized by damage and infiltration between the epidermis and dermis. They generally occur months after the initiation of a drug, although in this case it was just over 2 weeks; reactions take months to

resolve after discontinuing the offending agent. Even then, postinflammation hyperpigmentation may be seen. Such Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical reactions have been Trichostatin A reported with various psychotropics including phenothiazine antipsychotics [Kimyai-Asadi et al. 1999]. The Summary of Product Characteristics for aripiprazole [Otsuka Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and Bristol-Myers Squibb, 2011] does not suggest that dermatological reactions were noted during clinical trials. It lists ‘rash, photosensitivity, reaction, alopecia and hyperhidrosis’ as adverse reactions that have been noted during postmarketing

surveillance, but the incidence cannot be determined. A literature search (using Medline) Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical identified case reports of three severe adverse cutaneous reactions in patients prescribed aripiprazole [Hilas and Charneski, 2007; Shen et al. 2007]. All were cases of SJS; although the patients were taking Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical aripiprazole they had all been recently initiated on lamotrigine which was thought to be the more likely causal agent as this is well known to be associated with SJS [Warnock and Morris, 2002b]. These cases raise the question of whether the presence of aripiprazole increases the likelihood of SJS with lamotrigine [Shen et al. 2007]. In our case aripiprazole was immediately stopped on presentation of the reaction,

and with surgical and pharmacological Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical treatment this resolved. A few weeks later the patient was started on oral flupentixol as a short-term measure as this was known to be a reasonably Dichloromethane dehalogenase effective antipsychotic for him. In light of this extreme and frightening adverse reaction the patient was very reluctant to try an alternative antipsychotic. In view of the patient’s preference when weighing up the relative risks, and after several further discussions between the doctors, patient and his wife, and the pharmacist, a joint decision was made to continue oral flupentixol. His skin continued to heal and the oculogyric crises (which had been the presenting difficulty) did not return. It was presumed that this was because the oral dose was relatively lower than that cumulative depot dose. Ten months later he remains on oral flupentixol, he is the same mentally (symptomatic, but manageable), his skin has healed and the oculogyric crises have not returned.

Two days after the first fluvoxamine administration JF developed a rash which only resolved once the drug was stopped. Following this apparent allergic reaction, clozapine was titrated back to 900 mg/day and the histamine, H2 antagonist cimetidine (a moderately potent multi-enzyme inhibitor) was initiated at a dose of 800

mg/day. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Five days after first cimetidine dose his clozapine plasma concentration was 0.47 mg/l and norclozapine 0.31 mg/l. This increase in plasma concentration was accompanied by a substantial clinical improvement which was sustained while the patient remained on both drugs and resulted in a transfer to a low-security hospital unit. At each stage of treatment the patient was kept fully informed of the reasons for prescribing enzyme inhibitors. Clozapine metabolism Unambiguously, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical clozapine has been demonstrated to be the most effective choice of treatment for refractory schizophrenia, acting against both positive

to clozapine, exhibits very elaborate psychopharmacological binding properties but it is also more toxic to stem cells than its parent compound. Both in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that CYP1A2 plays the most significant role in clozapine disposition Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical as it is the main catalyst in its oxidation and therefore the formation of norclozapine. selleckchem Nonetheless, other CYP isoenzymes such as 3A4, 2D6, 2C9, 2C19, 2E1 have also been implicated in the drug’s metabolism, but to a lesser and arguable extent Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical [Doude van Troostwijk et al. 2003; Fang et al. 1998; Ozdemir et al. 2001; Taylor 1997; Wetzel et al. 1998]. In vitro data suggest that other CYPs which are also involved in the formation of norclozapine are 2C19 and 3A4, with the latter also being the main enzyme mediating the formation of clozapine N-oxide [Eiermann et al. 1997; Olesen and Linnet Methisazone 2001].The importance of 2D6 has been questioned by many as no difference in clozapine’s metabolite generation has been seen in 2D6 ultra-rapid metabolizers compared with slow metabolizers [Dahl et al. 1994]. The role of CYP 1A2 is confirmed by the observation that smoking (an inducer of CYP1A2) is associated with more rapid clozapine metabolism [Haring et al. 1989] Manipulation of plasma concentration The correlation between clozapine plasma levels and response is well established. Levels above 0.35 mg/l are linked to a better response rate [Taylor et al. 2012].

There is a need for disease management protocols that are based upon a solid foundation of research in latelife depression/Ill ere is a dearth of practical inpatient and outpatient guidelines and treatment recommendations that take into account the wide interpatient variation

and concomitant medications, or contain clinically meaningful definitions for depression and treatment response. In conclusion, new approaches to clinical research are needed. The AHCPR guidelines, NTH Consensus Conference, and NIH Update on treating “geriatric depression” all stress that the efficacy of the various treatments for depression Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical in the elderly is, by and large, equivalent to that found in adults in general. Differences, however, in dealing with the elderly involve the recognition of depression, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical overcoming barriers to care, and the particular practical problems discussed above. For example, the consequences of unrecognized and untreated depression in the elderly include increased health services utilization, longer hospital stays, poor treatment Staurosporine compliance, and increased morbidity and mortality from medical illness and suicide. The costs of treatment are relatively modest and can be minimized by careful monitoring of the patient’s clinical status. Other points to Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical be made include: (i) major depressive disorder in late life is a treatable illness;

(ii) evidence for the specific efficacy of medication is based on randomized placebo-controlled trials; (iii) evidence exists for the efficacy of psychotherapy alone as a treatment for less severely ill, nonpsychotic outpatients, though this area remains understudied; (iv) electroconvulsive therapy appears to be effective in geriatric patients with severe or psychotic major depressive; (v) evidence Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical for or against the efficacy of combined acute phase treatment with both psychotherapy and medication is generally

lacking in geriatric patients, but combined therapy is clearly a clinical advantage; and (vi) the utility of maintenance phase medication is suggested by a few studies.

Characterizing patients’ affect is an important component of the diagnosis of depression Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and assessing changes over time is important in evaluating TCL treatment outcomes. Therefore, evaluating affect and following the course of affect throughout treatment is a major component of the clinical process. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the pertinence of measuring both positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) when assessing depression, and not to focus only on depression, anxiety, and other forms of negative affect. As has been demonstrated by research findings and postulated by various circumplex models of emotion, positive and negative affective states are neither polar opposites (r=-1.00) nor totally unrelated (r=0.00).1 In other words, one should not assume that a report of high NA means that the respondent is also experiencing low PA. Measuring both is necessary.

The scopolamine model was used in cognitive research to study the clinical correlates of ACh deficiency (see reference 21 for a review). It was applied to elderly subjects

and AD patients22-33 as a marker of cholinergic sensitivity, with the purpose of improving the diagnosis and staging of the disease. It failed, however, to predict cognitive decline on the basis of the subjects’ sensitivity.34 Animal studies assessing the reversal of scopolamineinduced memory impairment by various compounds are too numerous to be cited exhaustively. This approach has also been used in humans with the following molecules: Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical physostigmine,35-40 velnacrine,40 choline,41 RO 15-1788,39 moclobemide,42,43 RU 41656,44 L-α-glycerylphosphoryleholine,45 Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical oxiracetam,46 aniracetam and piracetam,47 tenilsetam,48 BMY 21502,49 D-cycloserine,50 SDZ ENS-163,51 and ZK-93426.52 However, the scopolamine model has not become a standard tool in the early assessment of drugs. One reason for this is that the cognitive

changes induced by scopolamine do not really mimic the AD picture. The details Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of the differences listed in Figure 1 (based on references 28, 40, and 53-63) are open to discussion, but there is a general agreement on the fact that, as Wesnes40 wrote, all the scopolamine-induced deficiencies are also observed Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical in AD, while the reverse is not always true. The same is observed in neurological investigations. The electrophysiological effects of scopolamine (reviewed in reference 64) are close on EEG and similar on visual evoked potentials to those of AD. In PET65-68 and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)69 studies, scopolamine induces cerebral blood flow (CBF) and glucose metabolism changes, which are sometimes Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical divergent and region-specific, but in all cases different from the pattern observed in AD. Figure 1. Memory dysfuction in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and after scopolamine or ketamine The ketamine model Ketamine is a noncompetitive

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist.70-71 Its administration in order to produce a model is the correlate of the Selleckchem Docetaxel glutamatergic hypothesis of AD (reviewed in reference 72). Two, apparently opposite, glutamatergic hypotheses have been proposed. The excitotoxic hypothesis states that there is a glutamatergic hyperactivity for in AD. Domoic acid poisoning in humans was responsible for irreversible memory loss.73 Neuronal74 and astroglial75 glutamate transporter dysfunction in AD could result in excess glutamate in the synaptic cleft and in excitotoxic neuronal damage. This hypothesis is consistent with the beneficial effects of memantine76 and lamotrigine77 in AD patients. Some findings provide a link with the histopathological lesions that are the hallmarks of AD.

What actually happens to that oxygen within the erythrocytes of the blood trapped within the sinusoids of the priapic corpora still remains a mystery. Intervention Once the diagnosis of ischemic priapism has been made, emergent

intervention is required. Without detumescence and the restoration of arterial inflow to the cavernosal tissue, cavernosal hypoxia (via the capillaries) will be ongoing, ultimately resulting in interstitial edema, corporal smooth muscle fibrosis, and clinical erectile dysfunction.3 Even a single Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical prolonged erection can cause such pathologic alterations at both the structural and molecular level in the corpora cavernosa. Histopathologically, edema of the cavernous tissue and its trabecular framework at 4 hours is followed by a denuding of the sinusoidal endothelium at 24 hours, followed by smooth muscle cell necrosis and transformation into fibroblastic-like cells at 48 hours.4 The changes set the Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical stage for the progressive fibrosis and erectile dysfunction of the

Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical penis that are the hallmarks of priapism’s sequelae. Although intervention after 72 hours of an erectile state may relieve the unwanted erection and pain, little benefit is thought to remain in terms of potency preservation.2 In fact, the combined work of a number of investigators has demonstrated that the hypoxia and acidosis seen in the priapic penis at even 4 hours can result in irreversible dysfunction of the cavernosal smooth muscle, and therefore Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical the erectile apparatus.5–11 The predominant intervention in ischemic priapism is to Akt inhibitor achieve smooth muscle constriction or detumescence via corpora cavernosal aspiration/irrigation with concomitant usage of a sympathomimetic agent. Aspiration and irrigation of the cavernosa with normal saline promotes evacuation of the viscous, hypoxic blood. Sympathomimetics promote detumescence by contracting the smooth muscle, thereby opening

the emissary veins and increasing venous outflow.12 Aspiration alone without the use of sympathomimetics, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical with or without corporal irrigation, resolved the erection in up to 36% of patients in summary data compiled by the American Urological Association (AUA) Guideline Panel.1 The addition of a sympathomimetic injection increased efficacy to 81%, whereas injection of a sympathomimetic old alone without aspiration/irrigation yielded a 58% resolution rate.1 A number of sympathomimetic agents have been studied to determine efficacy. These agents include epinephrine, norepinephrine, and phenylephrine. Although all of these agents carry the risk for systemic effects such as hypertension, bradycardia, tachycardia, palpitations, and cardiac arrhythmias, phenylephrine is the preferred agent for use in the treatment of priapism given its selectivity for α-adrenergic receptors and its limited cardiovascular effects.

230 DMXBA also normalizes auditory gating in the DBA/2 mouse, a strain with no sensory inhibition under routine experimental conditions.231 Because of the success of DMXBA in preclinical trials, its effects on cognition

were initially evaluated in normal subjects.232 DMXBA significantly improved simple reaction time, correct detection during digit vigilance, both immediate and delayed word recall, word and picture recognition Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical memory, and performance speed on a numeric and spatial working memory task.233 A second Phase I trial was conducted in persons with schizophrenia.234 This double-blind study found that DMXBA normalized auditory evoked responses in both the P50 ratio and the test wave amplitude in patients. DMXBA also improved performance on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status

(RBANS) and the Attention subscale, with effect sizes more favorable when compared with second-generation antipsychotics. However, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical DMXBA Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical did not produce changes in the BPRS and therefore did not affect positive, negative, or anxiety related symptoms. An initial Phase II trial recently assessed the clinical effects of DMXBA on the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) Consensus Cognitive Battery, as Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical well as the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS).235 Although DMXBA did not significantly

improve MATRICS cognitive measures, SB431542 manufacturer patients reported significant improvements on the SANS total score, most notably on the anhedonia and alogia subscales. fMRI was also conducted in this trial to ascertain if DMXBA would have an effect on hippocampal activity236 In schizophrenia, increased hippocampal hemodynamic activity is often observed during many tasks, including smooth pursuit Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical eye movements, and is thought to be the result of hippocampal interneuron dysfunction. DMXBA (150 mg) reduced hippocampal activity in patients during pursuit eye movements consistent with the established function of α7nAChRs on hippocampal inhibitory interneurons. R3487/MEM3454 is a partial α7nAChR agonist and why a 5HT3 receptor antagonist. R3487/MEM3454 has been shown to be efficacious in multiple animal behavioral paradigms that evaluate episodic, spatial, and working memory function as well as sustained attention.237 4-bromophenyl-1 ,4-diazabicyclo[3 ,2,2]nonane-4-carboxylatehydrochloride (SSR1 80711) is a partial a7 nAChR agonist, with no significant binding and/or functional activity at other human nAChRs. This compound produced electrophysiological, biochemical, and behavioral effects predictive of cognitive benefit in schizophrenia.

22 LHRH Escape The prescribing guidelines for all FDA-approved LHRH agonists and antagonists recommend monitoring Selleck Romidepsin testosterone levels to ensure that castrate level is maintained. It is not guaranteed that patients initiated on LHRH therapy will maintain testosterone suppression at all time points. Although the overwhelming majority of prostate cancer patients during treatment with LHRH analogues achieve

serum testosterone values within the castrate level, individual patients may fail to reach this therapeutic goal.23 Testosterone escape Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical is defined as a single serum testosterone value rising above 50 ng/dL at any point while under treatment with LHRH analogue therapy. Furthermore, it is recognized that some men may experience surges in testosterone during long-term

treatment upon readministration of the agonist drug, described as the acute-on-chronic effect.24 The mechanism is Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical similar to the initial flare reaction with the first treatment (a transient stimulation of LH production by the LHRH agonist). Testosterone surges can also be seen at any time during treatment, referred to as a break-through response. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical LHRH agonists are associated with acute-on-chronic effect in 4% to 10% of patients treated with standard LHRH therapy.15,25 Up to 23% of men on goserelin Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical escaped from the castrate level and overall breakthroughs are reported in the literature in 2% to 13% of patients on LHRH agonists overall.26–28 About 2% to 17% of patients fail to achieve a serum testosterone level lower than 50 ng/dL and about

13% to 38% of patients fail to achieve a serum testosterone level lower than 20 ng/dL, as reviewed by Tombal and Berges29 and based on reports of leuprolide acetate depot formulations and goserelin implants. Other explanations are possible for the occasional failure of an LHRH analogue to achieve the desired effect of serum testosterone. One recent Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical discovery is polymorphisms in LH accounting for variable responses Dipeptidyl peptidase to LHRH analogues in women that will need to be confirmed in men.30 Furthermore, obesity and an association with higher prostate cancer mortality has been noted. Despite lower pretreatment serum testosterone levels, obese men have higher total and free testosterone levels during leuprolide treatment than men with a normal body mass index (BMI). These differences may contribute to the association between obesity and increased prostate cancer mortality.31 Additional concerns have been raised about dosing LHRH analogues in obese men. The issue of BMI having an effect on the depot preparation of LHRH analogues has been reported by several investigators who have studied different doses of leuprolide with respect to body weight.

It is also possible that patients had had such conversations but either did not recall these when asked in the interview or perhaps did not want, at that point in time, to revisit those conversations. In an interview with the nominated HCPs providing P103 with care, they reported raising the topic of future care when first involved in her case (not mentioned by the HCS assay patient in her interview) but had subsequently found it very difficult

to know how or whether to broach the topic again. Other participants reported some initial conversations about future plans but indicated that these had not been revisited for some time. One patient with heart Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical failure reported some conversations with HCPs during a period when he was seriously ill and required hospitalisation but he had not subsequently followed up on these conversations: P203: I’ve Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical been feeling pretty good now for about two or three months I suppose. IV: So do those sorts of issues about (future plans) – do they go to the back of your mind when you’re feeling a bit better? P203: Oh yeah, I don’t

give them a thought … (P203 – first interview) This patient reported that when these conversations were initiated by HCPs, he wondered if they did so because he was close to dying; this may explain in part why he and the HCPs involved in his care had not revisited the discussions Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical since, or had been reluctant to do so when he was feeling relatively better. Another cancer Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical patient reported not having had any conversations with HCPs about preferences for where he wanted to be cared for. However, in the interview he revealed that he had given some thought to future plans about where he wanted to be cared for and die. IV: Has anybody talked to you about where you want to be cared for? In terms of staying at home or, has anyone had Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical those sort of conversations with you? P101: No, no, not yet. No. I certainly want to stay

at home. I’ll be quite frank with you. If I’m going to die, I want to die at home; I don’t want to die in hospital. And the family, I think, understand that. In a follow up interview with the nominated HCPs involved in the care of this patient (after his death), they those recalled difficulties in knowing how and when to initiate conversations with him about his preferences: He never really, up until the very end, particularly considered himself to be palliative. Only near the end did he say ’I don’t think I’m winning this’ and that was the first indication I had that he was thinking along the lines of ’I’m going to die from this’. (HCP. S1 FU). This patient died suddenly from a heart attack. It can be very difficult for HCPs to judge timing of initiating conversations with patients. As identified by the HCPs in this case, that may mean that discussions about preferences are never raised: … we never actually asked him where he would like to die. It was always a case of let’s see what’s happening with you and he steered you away from that all the time (HCP2, S1 FU).